The five Group of Five leagues hosted their championship games this past weekend with the the best of the best getting a shot at a New Year’s Six bowl bid. That bid likely will go to the AAC’s Tulane, who defeated UCF 45-28 to avenge its lone conference loss of the season. The victory marks […]
After years of public uproar (especially of those that follow the non-Power Five leagues) in the consideration of Group of Five schools, Cincinnati gets their shot to show what it can do in a college football playoff setting. In previous years, undefeated G5 schools were passed up for one-loss Power Five teams, UCF was that team in 2017 who like Cincinnati was the only undefeated team in the FBS ranks.
The Bearcats get a shot at the top seeded team, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama won the SEC Championship Game in convincing fashion, with a 41-24 win over previously undefeated Georgia.
Georgia vs. CincinnatiWhen: Friday, January 1st, 12:00 PM ESTWhere: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Cincinnati gets its chance to show the Football Playoff Committee that they were ranked too low this season. The undefeated Bearcats will play Georgia in their home state in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day similar to how another undefeated […]
Florida Atlantic vs. MemphisWhen: Wednesday, December 23rd, 7:00 PM ESTWhere: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Ala.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Two programs that won their respecitive conferences hope to end their season with a win this year when Florida Atlantic faces Memphis in the first ever Montgomery Bowl, which is a replacement this year of COVID-19 for the what would have […]
Tulsa at Cincinnati When: Saturday, December 19th, 8:00 PM ESTWhere: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OhioTV/Streaming: ABC / WatchESPN This championship game was supposed to be a rematch as the two teams were scheduled to play in Tulsa with the winner getting the home field advantage for the AAC title game. But COVID-19 got in the way last week to allow […]
Cincinnati at SMUWhen: Saturday, Oct. 24th, 9:00 PM EDTWhere: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Tex.TV/Streaming: ESPN2/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) This American Athletic Conference clash may not have been the preseason pick as the top game in the conference but these two undefeated schools have played their way into this one. Both Cincinnati (9/10) and SMU (16/16) come into this […]
As Clark manned the sidelines at Kidd Brewer Stadium Saturday for the first time as the Mountaineers’ head coach, he drew from his football DNA to direct App State to its 35-20 victory over Charlotte in the 2020 season opener for both teams.
BYU at NavyWhen: Monday, Sept. 7th 8:00 PM EDTWhere: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MDTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) The Labor Day tradition of a a night game goes on this year, although this was not the game that most thought would be played. Georgia versus Virginia was the original game to be played on this Labor Day […]
Arkansas State at MemphisWhen: Saturday, Sept. 5th 8:00 PM EDTWhere: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TNTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Let the Paint Bucket Bowl Trophy Game be played again! (I admit I searched for a picture of the bucket and could not find one anywhere). The name of this rivalry was created when officials from the two schools decided […]
Below are the Top 25 Group of Five (G5) preseason rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the 2020 season. CSJ will show weekly rankings from the Sagarin rankings throughout the season and will have a final ranking after the national championship game in January. Keep in mind that all 65 G5 schools were considered […]
With all the uncertainty going into the 2020 college football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Athletic Conference has decided to forge ahead for a 2020 season in the fall.
Its been a rollercoaster ride in the past three-to-four months when thinking about a college football season for the Group of Five and really all of college football amid the COVID-19 pandamic. As it is today our countries Independence Day and inching closer to the scheduled 2020 college football season, I poised the question what […]
Southern Miss vs. Tulane (Armed Forces Bowl) When: Saturday, January 4th 11:30 AM EST Where: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Tex. TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Armed Forces Bowl History (Last Seven) December 29, 2012 Rice 33 Air Force 14 December 30, 2013 Navy 24 Middle Tennessee 6 January 2, 2015 Houston 35 Pittsburgh 34 […]
Boston College vs. Cincinnati (Birmingham Bowl) When: Thursday, January , 2nd 4:00 PM EST Where: Legion Field, Birmingham, Ala. TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Birmingham Bowl History (Last Five) January 3, 2015 Florida 28 East Carolina 20 December 30, 2015 Auburn 31 Memphis 10 December 29, 2016 South Florida 46 South Carolina 39 (OT) December 23, 2017 […]
Memphis vs. Penn State (Cotton Bowl Classic) When: Saturday, December 28th, 12:00 PM EST Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX TV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN Cotton Bowl History The Cotton Bowl started with its first game in 1937. The game played in the Cotton Bowl Stadium until moving to AT&T Stadium in January 2010. The following is the history […]
This week the Group of Five is down to four and this week, the top two ranked G5 teams meet in the regular season finale for each. Cincinnati plays at Memphis with each having sights at the American Athletic Conference title and a Cotton Bowl bid as the top G5 squad in the final rankings […]
With the Appalachian State loss to Georiga Southern in the Sun Belt Conference Thursday night, SMU is now the only undefeated team left in the Group of Five. The Mustangs now get possibily its toughest test of the season–at least so far–when they travel to play Memphis. The Tigers themselves have New Year’s Six aspirations […]
Down goes #1. Just one week after capturing the top spot in the Sagarin rankings amongst the Group of Five teams, Boise State fell this week at BYU. That loss puts the list of undefeated Group of Five teams down to just two in SMU and Appalachian State. Both SMU and App State breezed to […]
For the first time in over two years, UCF is not the top ranked team in the Group of Five. Boise State now sits in the driver’s seat for the top spot and the New Year’s Six Bowl bid. The Broncos travel to independent BYU this week in their hopes to stay atop of the […]
And we are down to three. Three undefeated teams in the Group of Five that is. That number is down from the four we had coming into Week 7. Memphis fell from the ranks of the undefeated teams with its narrow loss at Temple. Appalachian State and Boise State, however, remained unscathed and SMU had […]
Wow, what a game in Dallas!! SMU came back from a three touchdown deficite to win in three overtimes over Tulsa. The Mustangs remain undefeated with the come-from-behind victory. Memphis also in the AAC West remained undefeated with its win at the Sun Belt’s Louisiana-Monroe. UCF lost to Cincinnati to likely be out of the […]
Two Group of Five games highlight this Thursday with two of the four teams really needing a win to get on the right track towards a bowl bid. The first game of the night is Georgia Southern at South Alabama in a Sun Belt Conference cross-divisional contest. The second game starts a half hour later […]
There are a number of Power 5 match-ups this week for the Group of Five but it is two G5 vs. G5 match-ups that I have most of my attention towards this week. The two games I am watching closely are Florida Atlantic hosting current CSJ Sagarin G5 Top ranked UCF and then the battle […]
The FBS Group of Five starts with a couple of heavy weights playing some Power Five squads that will go a long way towards which G5 team will be playing in a New Year’s Six Bowl game. This will be a preview of the two heavy hitter games that I will have my eyes on […]
Wichita State at USF When: Tuesday, January 22nd, 9:00 PM Where: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Fla. TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network Wichita State Shockers (8-9, 1-4) Wichita, Kansas American Athletic Conference (T-10th) Enrollment: 15,784 Sagarin Rating: 111 (24th CSJ Sagarin High Major Poll) Scouting Report: The Shockers are a young team and the youth has shown so far this year […]
Louisiana-Lafayette heads to the AutoNation Cure Bowl to face the Tulane Green Wave for what will be the second bowl game matchup with the New Orleans based school and third meeting in five years.
Army vs. Navy When: Saturday, December 8, 3:00 PM EST Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA. TV/Streaming: CBS / CBS Sports Streaming Navy Midshipmen (3-9, 2-6 AAC) Season Recap: After a shocking victory over the eventual AAC East champs Memphis in September, the Midshipmen had some early promise for the 2018 season that was dashed by their inability […]
Ohio at Cincinnati When: Saturday, September 22, 12:00 PM EDT Where:Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio TV/Streaming: ESPNU / ESPN App Ohio Bobcats (1-1, 0-0 MAC) The rivalry is renewed with the Bearcats. Saturday marks the first meeting of the two schools since Oct. 3, 1981, 36 years ago. The all-time series, which began in 1896, is knotted at 23-23-4 […]
Florida Atlantic at UCF When: Friday, September 21, 7:00 PM EDT Where: Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, Fla. TV/Streaming: ESPN / WatchESPN Florida Atlantic (2-1 overall, 0-0 C-USA) Week 3 – W 49-28 vs. Bethune-Cookman The Owls get throttled in week one against Oklahoma but that was a completely different realm . FAU has bounced back with two wins in […]
Tulsa at Temple When: Thursday, September 20, 7:30 PM EDT Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa. TV/Streaming: ESPN / WatchESPN Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-2, 0-0 AAC)-Week 3- L 29-21 – vs. Arkansas State Trailing 27-7 in the third quarter, Tulsa (1-2) scored 13 points to bring the score to 27-20 with 11:13 remaining in the 4th period […]
The Lehigh football has been in some pretty big time FCS-level atmospheres before. In the FCS playoffs, Lehigh has been to Delaware, Northern Iowa, Towson, and North Dakota State. During the regular season, they’ve also played at Liberty, the Yale Bowl, and James Madison. They also routinely play their big Rivals Lafayette to sellout crowds […]
South Florida vs. Illinois When: Saturday, September 15, 2:30 PM CDT Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill. TV/Streaming: Big Ten Network / Big10Go South Florida Bulls (2-0, 0-0 AAC) Week 2-W 49-38 vs. Georgia Tech Trailing Georgia Tech, 38-28, 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, USF scored 21 unanswered points and forced two of its three turnovers gained on the […]
Rhode Island at Connecticut When: Saturday, September 15, 12:00 PM Where: Pratt and Whitney Stadium, East Hartford, CT TV/Streaming: SNY/ESPN College Extra/ESPN3 (subject to blackout in much of New England area) Rhode Island Rams Rhode Island is the talk to the FCS so far with their strong 2-0 start. If they can go in to […]
For much of FCS Nation, a game against an FBS opponent is an annual expectation. For a significant number of FCS schools, however, games against FBS opponents are not something that happens every year. Such is the case of Lehigh, who hasn’t scheduled a game against an FBS opponent in fifteen years. This weekend, the […]
South Florida and Houston had big home wins over Power 5 squads and Navy had the upset win over previously Top 5 in the Power Poll Memphis to highlight Week 2 action in the FBS Group of Five schools. The biggest riser for a second straight week has to be Hawai’i, where a team we […]
Arizona at Houston When: Saturday, September 8th, 11:00 AM CDT Where: TDECU Stadium, Houston, TX TV/Streaming Coverage: ABC, ESPN2/WatchESPN app (subscription required) Arizona (0-1, 0-0 Pac 12, last week L 28-23 vs BYU) Arizona lost its home opener to BYU last weekend and now looks to win its road opener in Coach Kevin Sumlin’s former home […]
TCU at SMU When: Friday, September 7th, 7:00 PM CDT Where: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX TV/Streaming Coverage: ESPN2, WatchESPN app (subscription required) TCU (1-0, 0-0 Big 12, last week W 55-7 over Southern U.) TCU makes the short trek across the Fort Worth-Dallas Metroplex for its first road game of the season when it travels […]
Here at College Sports Journal, we thought it would be best to see how the Group of Five stack up with our opinions and not so much the Sagarin rankings alone. We will still be sharing the Top 25 Sagarin rankings weekly but we will also now start a power poll that will take the […]
College Sports Journal announces their 2018 Fearless Prediction for the Order of finish of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), the fifth and final of our Group of Five Conference previews. The American Athletic Conference is the top Group of 5 league currently and with the talent back, that likely will stay that way through this […]
UCF Knights Location: Orlando, FL Coach: Josh Heupel (0-0) 1st Season Stadium:Spectrum Stadium (Capacity: 45,301) CSJ Projections: 1st: AAC (1st East Division) 2nd: Florida 22nd: FBS 22nd: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: UCF finished as the only undefeated team (13-0) in all of Division I football last year and while it did not get invited […]
Memphis Tigers Location: Memphis, TN Coach: Mike Norvell (18-8) 3rd Season Stadium: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 58,207) CSJ Projections: 2nd: AAC (1st West Division) 1st: Tennessee 31st: FBS 32nd: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: The Tigers won the AAC West Division and gave the only undefeated team in Division I football last year […]
South Florida Bulls Location: Tampa, FL Coach: Charlie Strong (10-2@ USF, 63-39 overall) 2nd Season Stadium: Raymond James Stadium (Capacity: 65,890) CSJ Projections: 3rd: AAC (2nd East Division) 4th: Florida 40th: FBS 41st: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: The Bulls were a win away from the AAC title game in losing at rival UCF […]
Navy Midshipmen Location: Annapolis, MD Coach: Ken Niumataolo (84-51) 10th Season Stadium: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 34,000) CSJ Projections: 4th: AAC (2nd West Division) 1st: Maryland 53rd: FBS 55th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: A promising 5-0 start ended terribly for the Midshipmen, losing five of their next six regular-season games and losing heartbreaker […]
Houston Cougars Location: Houston, TX Coach: Major Applewhite (7-6) 2nd Season Stadium: TDECU Stadium (Capacity: 40,000) CSJ Projections: 5th: AAC (3rd West Division) 5th: Texas 59th: FBS 61st: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: The Cougars finished an up and down season at 7–4, having signature wins over Arizona and South Florida, but having suffered inexplicable […]
Temple Owls Location: Philadelphia, PA Coach: Geoff Collins (7-6) 2nd Season Stadium: Lincoln Financial Field (Capacity: 68,532) CSJ Projections: 6th: AAC (3rd East Division) 3rd: Pennslyvania 67th: FBS 70th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: In Coach Collins’ first year, Temple went 7-6 and defeated Florida International in the Gasparilla Bowl–the first bowl win since 2011 and just […]
SMU Mustangs Location: Dallas, TX Coach: Sonny Dykes (0-0 @SMU, 41-45 overall) 1st Season Stadium: Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Capacity: 32,000) CSJ Projections: 8th: AAC (4th West Division) 6th: Texas 80th: FBS 84th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: SMU is coming off its first bowl appearance in five years after finishing the regular season at 7-5 but […]
Tulane Green Wave Location: New Orleans, LA Coach: Willie Fritz (9-15@TU, 202-89-1 overall) 3rd Season Stadium: Yulman Stadium (Capacity: 30,000) CSJ Projections: 8th: AAC (5th West Division) 3rd: Louisiana 84th: FBS 88th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: The Green Wave were stopped near the goal line in the last regular season game to lose to […]
Tulsa Golden Hurricane Location: Tulsa, OK Coach: Phillip Montgomery (18-20) 4th Season Stadium: H.A. Chapman Stadium (Capacity: 30,000) CSJ Projections: 9th: AAC (6th West Division) 3rd: Oklahoma 96th: FBS 104th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: Just one year after an incredible 10-3 season, Tulsa fell hard in 2017 in slumping to a 2-10 record, which […]
Cincinnati Bearcats Location: Cincinnati, OH Coach: Luke Fickell (4-8 @UC, 10-15 overall) 2nd Season Stadium: Nippert Stadium (Capacity: 40,000) CSJ Projections: 10th: AAC (4th East Division) 6th: Ohio 104th: FBS 116th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: The Luke Fickell era got off to a rough start in 2017 as he came to Cincinnati with a […]
East Carolina Pirates Location: Greenville, NC Coach: Scottie Montgomery (6-18) 3rd Season Stadium: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (Capacity: 50,000) CSJ Projections: 11th: AAC (5th East Division) 6th: North Carolina 106th: FBS 118th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: The Pirates finished the season just as they did in 2016 with a 3-9 record on a team that produced […]
